Which theory suggests that perception involves unconscious assumptions or inferences based on past experiences?

Helmholtz's theory of unconscious inference proposes that perception is not a straightforward process of perceiving stimuli as they are; rather, it involves the brain making educated guesses or inferences about the nature of the stimuli based on prior experiences. According to this theory, our perceptions are influenced by unconscious interpretations that reflect our accumulated knowledge and experiences. This means that while we may perceive objects in our environment, our brain is simultaneously drawing upon past information to fill in gaps and make sense of sensory input.

For instance, when you see a blurry image of a car, your brain utilizes prior knowledge of what a car typically looks like to infer that the blurry object is indeed a car, even if the visual details are not fully clear. This theory emphasizes the role of experience and background knowledge in shaping our perceptual interpretations, illustrating how perception is an active and constructive process rather than a passive reflection of the external world.

In contrast, Gestalt theory focuses more on the principles of organization within perception rather than the role of past experiences. Feature integration theory centers on the processing of individual features of stimuli, and Constructivist theory, while similar to Helmholtz's ideas, leans more towards the active construction of perception rather than the unconscious inference aspect.